CREATING PLACES FOR PEOPLE AN URBAN DESIGN PROTOCOL FOR FOR AUSTRALIAN AUSTRALIAN CITIES
CREATING PLACES FOR PEOPLE AN URBAN DESIGN PROTOCOL FOR AUSTRALIAN CITIES
Who should read this document? The Urban Design Protocol is intended or anybody who has an interest in our built environment. Broadly, there are two audiences or this Protocol: 1. Decision makers and proessionals whose actions aect the urban environment, including: • •
Elected representatives and ocers in Commonwealth, State, Territory and Local government Consultants and practitioners whose work has an impact on urban design, including planning, development, architecture, landscape architecture, engineering, law and nance.
This audience should make particular reerence to the model processes or creating high quality urban environments, and the outcomes that these processes are seeking to achieve. 2. The general public (individuals and community groups) who have an interest in urban design or may be aected by decisions about the built environment. This audience should make specic reerence to the outcomes – that is, the aims and principles – described in this document and how this might aect them.
CREATING PLACES FOR PEOPLE AN URBAN DESIGN PROTOCOL FOR AUSTRALIAN CITIES
INTRODUCTION Relationship with other policies and guidelines
1 2
WHAT IS GOOD URBAN DESIGN?
5
AIM AND PRINCIPLES Place: productivity + sustainability People: liveability Leadership and governance
7 9 10 11
MODEL PROCESSES
12
ELEMENTS OF URBAN DESIGN
14
APPENDIX A: URBAN DESIGN PROTOCOL ON A PAGE
17
APPENDIX B: NATIONAL URBAN POLICY ON A PAGE
18
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FOREWORD
Creating Places for People is a collective commitment to best practice urban design in Australia. The protocol is the result of two years of collaboration between peak community and industry organisations, and governments at all levels. The quality o our neighbourhoods, towns and cities has a signicant impact on our daily lives. Quality urban design makes a valuable contribution to our economy, our natural and built environments, and the liveability o our cities. It helps local businesses thrive. It attracts people to visit, live and work in a location. It considers the landscape, encourages biodiversity and incorporates natural ecosystems. It has an important infuence on our physical and mental health and wellbeing. It provides opportunities or healthy liestyles and community interaction. Creating Places for People does not take a one size ts all approach. Instead, it provides broad principles that take into account the unique characteristics o a location and its community, and encourages excellence in the design and custodianship o urban places.
AN URBAN DESIGN PROTOCOL FOR AUSTRALIAN CITIES vII
The ollowing organisations were involved in the creation o the Urban Design Protocol. We encourage others to embrace and adopt the Urban Design Protocol.
Australian Government
Planning Ocials Group (State and Territory Planning Departments)
New South Wales Government Government Architect’s Oce
Queensland Government Oce o the Government Architect
Western Australia Government Oce o the Government Architect
South Australia Government Oce o the Government Architect
Integrated Design Commission South Australia
Australian Capital Territory Oce o the Government Architect
Australian Local Government Association
Council o Capital City Lord Mayors
Natio nal Heart Foundatio n o Australia
Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council
Planning Institute o Australia
Australian Institute o Architects
Green Building Council o Australia
Consult Australia
Water Services Association o Australia
Tasmanian Government Oce o the State Architect National Growth Areas All iance
Australian Institute o Landscape Architects Property Council o Australia
Oce o the Victorian Government Architect
Australian Green Inrastructure Council
CREATING PLACES FOR PEOPLE vIII
First life, then spaces, then buildings: the other way around never works Jan Gehl
AN URBAN DESIGN PROTOCOL FOR AUSTRALIAN CITIES 1
INTRODUCTION
Urban design occurs across all parts o a city, rom the inner city to the suburbs and outer metropolitan ringe. Urban design is relevant to developments, whatever their nature and size. City-wide transport and inrastructure networks, urban inll projects, regional towns, new suburban developments, shopping malls, streets, oce blocks, university campuses and hospitals are all the result o urban design. High quality urban design becomes even more important as we increase the density o our cities and cater or a growing and changing population. It requires excellent planning, design and management o our built environment and the supporting social and economic inrastructure. Creating Places for People: an urban design protocol for Australian cities (the Protocol) establishes 12 broadly agreed principles or quality urban places in Australia. These principles can be applied to any project or location – whether it is in a large capital city, regional centre or rural town.
CAIRNS ESPLANADE REDEVELOPMENT, WINNER OF THE 2003 AUSTRALIA AWARD FOR URBAN DESIGN. BY COX RAYNOR AND TRACT CONSULTANTS. IMAGE COURTESY OF CAIRNS REGIONAL COUNCIL
CREATING PLACES FOR PEOPLE 2
RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER POLICIES AND GUIDELINES
NATIONAL URBAN POLICY Our Cities, Our Future: a national urban policy for a productive, sustainable and liveable future (National Urban Policy) is the Australian Government’s strategic policy ramework or the 18 major cities o Australia. It articulates the role o the Australian Government in helping our cities work better, whether through direct investment or in partnership with key stakeholders. Appendix B summarises the National Urban Policy goals and objectives. One o the actions arising rom the National Urban Policy was a commitment to develop an urban design protocol. COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS The purpose o the Urban Design Protocol is to encourage the highest standard o urban design. The Council o Australian Governments (COAG) agreed to undertake reorms in capital city strategic planning systems ‘to ensure Australian cities are globally competitive, productive, sustainable, liveable and socially inclusive and are well placed to meet uture challenges and growth’ 1. There are nine criteria li sted in the COAG agreement. Among these is: ‘To encourage world-class urban design and architecture’. The Protocol responds to this by providing a ramework to identiy, implement, measure and improve best practice in urban de sign.
STATE, TERRITORY AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT Many jurisdictions already have in place guidelines and protocols relating to urban design. Figure 1 illustrates a ‘line of sight’ from the National Urban Policy down to neighbourhood and street level. NATIONAL GUIDELINES AND TOOLS Creating Places for People complements other national guidelines and tools that currently exist including Healthy Spaces and Places – a national guide to designing places for healthy living 2. The Green Building Council o Australia and the Australian Green Inrastructure Council will shortly be releasing a set o sustainability rating tools.
1 2
www.coagreormcouncil.gov.au/agenda/cities.cm Developed through a partnership between the Heart Foundation, Australian Local Government Association and the Planning Institute o Australia, and initially supported by unding rom
AN URBAN DESIGN PROTOCOL FOR AUSTRALIAN CITIES 3 PADDINGTON RESERVOIR GARDENS, JOINT WINNER OF THE 2009 AUSTRALIA AWARD FOR URBAN DESIGN. BY TONKIN ZULAIKHA GREER ARCHITECTS AND JAMES MAHER DELANEY DESIGN. IMAGE COURTESY OF CITY OF SYDNEY
CREATING PLACES FOR PEOPLE 4
Figure 1: Line of sight from national to site level
Thinking about urban design, strategic and statutory planning at dierent scales helps put them in context. The elements o urban design are illustrated next to the scale o planning at which they are commonly addressed. Concept adopted rom Next Generation Planning , published by the Council o Mayors (SEQ), 2011
AN URBAN DESIGN PROTOCOL FOR AUSTRALIAN CITIES 5
WHAT IS GOOD URBAN DESIGN?
Urban design is concerned with the arrangement, appearance and unction o our suburbs, towns and cities. It is both a process and an outcome o creating localities in which people live, engage with each other, and the physical place around them. Urban design involves many dierent disciplines including planning, development, architecture, landscape architecture, engineering, law and nance. Urban design operates rom the macro scale o the urban structure (planning, zoning, transport and inrastructure networks) to the micro scale o street urniture and lighting. When ully integrated into policy and planning systems, urban design can inorm land use planning, inrastructure, built orm and even the socio-demographic mix o a place. Urban design can signicantly infuence: •
•
•
the economic success and socio-economic composition o a locality – whether it encourages local businesses and entrepreneurship; whether it attracts people to live there; whether the costs o housing and travel are aordable; and whether access to job opportunities, acilities and services are equitable; the physical scale, space and ambience o a place. As such, it aects the balance between natural ecosystems and built environments, and their sustainability; the social and cultural nature o a locality: how people interact with each other, how they move around, and how they use a place.
Although urban design is oten delivered as a specic ‘project’, it is in act a long-term process that continues to evolve over time. It is this layering o building and inrastructure types, natural ecosystems, communities and cultures that gives places their unique characteristics and identities.
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Reer to Elements of Urban Design or urther denitions relating to urban design in the Australian context. The Council o Australian Governments has agreed to encourage urban design o the highest international standard. This should include design, perormance, quality, satisaction and value when benchmarked against the best developments, products or processes in the world. The objective o the urban design protocol is to encourage the highest standard o urban design across all parts o our suburbs, towns and cities.
AN URBAN DESIGN PROTOCOL FOR AUSTRALIAN CITIES 7
AIMS AND PRINCIPLES The Urban Design Protocol is ounded on ve pillars: productivity, sustainability, liveability, leadership and design excellence. When integrated together, these pillars orm the aim o the Protocol:
To create productive, sustainable and liveable places for people through leadership and the integration of design excellence
Enhances economic productivity + living affordability
d
e
s i g
productive
p i
n e
h s
x
c e
r e
l l
d
Demonstrates leadership + integrates design excellence
e
a
n
e
c e
l
QUALITY
URBAN DESIGN Fosters environmental responsibility
sustainable
liveable
Cultivates healthy, cohesive + inclusive communities
Twelve basic principles underpin the Protocol based on design, leadership and governance. These principles are interrelated with the ve oundation pillars o the Protocol.
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Aim Creates productive, sustainable + liveable places or people through leadership + the integration o design excellence
What is being achieved (outcome) Productivity Sustainability Enhances economic Fosters productivity + environmental living aordability responsibility
Design principles about place: productivity + sustainability Enhancing Enhances local economy, environment + community
Liveability Cultivates healthy, cohesive + inclusive communities
How it’s achieved (process) Leadership Design Demonstrates Integrates design visionary excellence leadership + governance
Connected Connects physically + socially
Diverse Diversity o options + experiences
Enduring Sustainable, enduring + resilient
Design principles about people: liveability Comfortable Comortable + welcoming Vibrant Vibrant, with people around
Safe Feels sae Walkable Enjoyable + easy to walk + bicycle around Principles about leadership and governance Context Works within the planning, physical + social context Engagement Engages with relevant stakeholders Excellence Excellence, innovation + leadership Custodianship Considers custodianship + maintenance over time
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PLACE: PRODUCTIVITY + SUSTAINABILITY Creates the context for people to engage with the place
Principles
Outcomes
Enhancing
E nhances the local economy, environment + community
Connected
Connects physically + socially
Attributes—How it helps to achieve world-class urban design • • • • • • • • • • •
Diverse
Diversity o options + experiences
• •
• • • • •
Enduring
Sustainable, enduring + resilient
• •
• • • •
It respects the needs and aspirations o the community that lives and works there It creates opportunities or people to prosper and local businesses to thrive It sustains and enhances the natural environment It enhances the built environment visually, physically and unctionally It celebrates unique characteristics—heritage, culture and community—that create a sense of place and identity It is well connected to surrounding areas You can see where you are and where you are going There is a range o transport options, including public transport, walking and bicycling It is connected to places with jobs, schools, shops, acilities and services It is connected with the past—the heritage o a place—and with the community and its culture It eels connected with the natural environment Each locality has its own character and qualities There is a rich range o experiences—how you move around and interact with others, what buildings and spaces look and eel like, and what things you can do There is a range o acilities, services and activities Despite the diversity, there is an overall harmonious blend You can take dierent routes depending on your mood, or i you’re visiting dierent places on your way It meets dierent people’s needs, including a diversity o housing options There is biodiversity in the fora and auna It is resilient to extreme weather events, natural disasters and a changing climate Things are built to last, where appropriate – they’re made o robust materials, are designed well and there’s a sense o quality It is visually and aesthetically pleasing as well as practical It is well maintained and cared or It is designed to save resources like water, energy and materials, and minimises its impact on the environment It considers current and uture activities and can evolve and adapt over time
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PEOPLE: LIVEABILITY Creates the context for people to engage with each other
Principles
Outcomes
Attributes – How it helps to achieve world-class urban design
Comortable
Comortable +
•
welcoming
• • • •
Vibrant
Vibrant, with people around
• • • •
Sae
Feels sae
• • •
Walkable
Enjoyable +
•
easy to walk +
•
bicycle around
• •
It eels comortable to walk through, sit, stand, play, talk, read, or just relax and contemplate It is not too exposed to unpleasant noise, wind, heat, rain, trac or pollution You can reely use the place, or at least part o it, without having to pay You can be yoursel and eel included as part o the community It caters or people with various physical capabilities, the old and the young You can see that there are other people around People are enjoying themselves and each other’s company There are places to meet and interact, play, explore, recreate and unwind It is a place you want to visit, experience, or live in It eels sae and secure, even at night or on your own There aren’t signs o decay such as grati, rubbish, weeds or derelict buildings and places Roads and paths are sae or adults and children to walk or ride their bikes It prioritises people walking or riding beore vehicles It is easy to get around on oot, bike, wheelchair, pushing a pram or wheeling luggage Buildings and streets eel like they’re the right size and type or that place It encourages physical activity and social interaction, and promotes a healthy liestyle
AN URBAN DESIGN PROTOCOL FOR AUSTRALIAN CITIES 11
LEADERSHIP + GOVERNANCE
Pri nciples
Proc esses
Attribu tes – How it hel ps achi eve worl d- class urba n desig n
Context
Works within
•
the planning,
•
physical + social context
• •
Engagement
Excellence
Engages
•
with relevant
•
stakeholders
•
Fosters
•
excellence,
•
innovation +
•
leadership •
Custodianship
Considers
•
custodianship
•
+ maintenance over time
• •
It sets, or works within the strategic planning ramework It integrates with the physical environment, including its topography, biodiversity, landscape and views, existing streets and buildings, and in rastructure It incorporates the heritage, culture and historical context o surrounding communities and places It is compatible with the surrounding social and economic activities It acknowledges that urban design is primarily about creating places or people It engages people in the development o their community It adopts a multi-disciplinary and collaborative approach to planning and design It prioritises best practice planning, design, engineering, procurement and maintenance It champions universal design and accessibility It integrates design, and design expertise, rom the earliest stages o a plan or project through to completion It engages competent, skilled proessionals to design and deliver on projects It recognises that communities, environments and cities are continually evolving and adapting It considers the wider environmental, social and economic costs and benets o development, operations, maintenance and disposal It ensures that the design o a place is appropriate or its ongoing maintenance, operations and upkeep It incorporates strategies to reduce and adapt to climate change
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MODEL PROCESSES Well-designed urban places can only be achieved by adopting an integrated design approach where multi-disciplinary teams work collaboratively at all stages o a project, rom design through to procurement, implementation, operation and maintenance. Good model processes prioritise design excellence through leadership, teamwork and integrated processes. The ollowing is an indicative process or delivering high quality urban design projects. It provides a broad description o the considerations required.
CONTEXT •
Strategic planning
A good strategic planning ramework analyses and decides what economic, environmental and social outcomes need to be achieved, and prioritises actions to achieve these outcomes. Strategic policies are then implemented through a variety o means, including statutory plans, inrastructure plans and service delivery plans. COAG’s review o capital city strategic planning systems sets nine criteria that should be embodied in city strategic planning systems. A project should work within the context o the strategic planning ramework. It should respond to the National Urban Policy objectives and the principles outlined in the Urban Design Protocol. It also needs to work within the strategic policies and statutory plans o the relevant State / Territory and local authorities (see Figure 1).
ENGAGEMENT
Relevant stakeholders, including the broader community, should provide input and eedback at key stages o process. They can help to develop the vision, review design options and provide eedback during public exhibition.
EXCELLENCE through: •
•
Leadership
A process that embraces design excellence requires visionary leadership. One way o encouraging this is to appoint a client-side project leader and ensure that delivering high quality urban design outcomes is a key accountability. For larger projects, consider a ‘design champion’ within the p roject team, capability based selection, design competition and/or an independent design review.
Collaboration and teamwork
Urban design excellence is achieved by multidisciplinary teams with appropriate skills and experience. Ensure the project team includes competent, skilled design proessionals including land use planners, urban designers, landscape architects, architects and engineers as appropriate.
AN URBAN DESIGN PROTOCOL FOR AUSTRALIAN CITIES 13
•
Integrated processes
Invest up ront in q uality, integrated processes: Consult relevant stakeholders and communities at ap propriate stages Develop a vision or, and speciy, the outcomes that the project seeks to achieve Write a detailed and balanced brie, setting out perormance criteria Undertake thorough analysis o site and context Develop a variety o realistic and varied options (potentially through an enquiry by design process) that meet the brie Evaluate options against perormance criteria and Urban Design Protocol principles and attributes Develop the preerred option through an iterative design process, and document decision making Document the preerred option Select the procurement method, ensuring that procurement processes do not reduce design quality and monitor throughout the implementation o the project to ensure outcomes are achieved Evaluate outcomes with reerence to the Urban Design Protocol principles, and document areas or improvement or uture rectication • • • • •
• • • •
•
•
Design culture
CUSTODIANSHIP
Foster a culture which critically assesses urban design, celebrates its best examples and builds design literacy. Reward design excellence. Ensure that systems are in place or ongoing operations, management and upkeep so that the place is well-maintained and sustainable over the long term.
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ELEMENTS OF URBAN DESIGN This section provides basic explanations or terms that are commonly used or urban design in the Australian context. Figure 2 shows the approximate hierarchical relationship between the elements o urban orm, ollowed by a brie denition o the elements.
Figure 2: Elements of urban form – macro to micro scale
AN URBAN DESIGN PROTOCOL FOR AUSTRALIAN CITIES 15
Urban structure
The overall ramework o a region, town or precinct, showing relationships between zones o built orms, land orms, natural environments, activities and open spaces. It encompasses broader systems including transport and inrastructure networks.
Urban grain
The balance o open space to built orm, and the nature and extent o subdividing an area into smaller parcels or blocks. For example a ‘ne urban grain’ might constitute a network o small or detailed streetscapes. It takes into consideration the hierarchy o street types, the physical linkages and movement between locations, and modes o transport.
Density + mix
The intensity o development and the range o dierent uses (such as residential, commercial, institutional or recreational uses).
Height + massing
The scale o buildings in relation to height and foor area, and how they relate to surrounding land orms, buildings and streets. It also incorporates the building envelope, site coverage and solar orientation. Height and massing create the sense o openness or enclosure, and aect the amenity o streets, spaces and other buildings.
Streetscape + landscape
The design o public spaces such as streets, open spaces and pathways, and includes landscaping, microclimate, shading and planting.
Facade + interface
The relationship o buildings to the site, street and neighbouring buildings (alignment, setbacks, boundary treatment) and the architectural expression o their acades (projections, openings, patterns and materials).
Details + materials
The close-up appearance o objects and suraces and the selection o materials in terms o detail, cratsmanship, texture, colour, durability, sustainability and treatment. It includes public and private structures and space, street urniture, paving, lighting and signage. It contributes to human comort, saety and enjoyment o the public or private domain.
Public Realm
Much o urban design is concerned with the design and management o publicly used space (also reerred to as the public realm or public domain) and the way this is experienced and used. The public realm includes the natural and built environment used by the general public on a day-to-day basis such as streets, plazas, parks, and public inrastructure. Some aspects o privately owned space such as the bulk and scale o buildings, courtyards and entries that are traversed by the public or gardens that are visible rom the public realm, can also contribute to the overall result. At times, there is a blurring o public and private realms, particularly where privately owned space is publicly used.
Topography, landscape
The natural environment includes the topography o landorms, water and environment
Social + economic fabric
The non-physical aspects o the urban orm include social actors (culture, participation, health and well-being) as well as the productive capacity and economic productivity o a community. It incorporates aspects such as demographics and lie stages, social interaction and support networks.
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GEELONG YOUTH ACTIVITY AREA, WINNER OF THE 2010 AUSTRALIA AWARD FOR URBAN DESIGN. BY CITY OF GREATER GEELONG, CONVIC DESIGN PTY LTD, CANTERI BROS. CONSTRUCTIONS PTY LTD, CARDO GROGAN RICHARDS, CIVIL ENGINEERING CONSULTANTS, WEBB AUSTRALIA GROUP (VIC) AND LIGHTING AND ELECTRICAL
AN URBAN DESIGN PROTOCOL FOR AUSTRALIAN CITIES 17
APPENDIX A: URBAN DESIGN PROTOCOL ON A PAGE AIM: to create productive, sustainable and liveable places through leadership and the integration of design excellence Urban design incorporates: Outcomes – described in the eight design principles • •
Processes – described in the our principles about leadership and governance.
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APPENDIX B: NATIONAL URBAN POLICY ON A PAGE Our Cities, Our Future: a national urban policy for a productive sustainable and liveable future presents a national ramework to guide policy development and public and private investment in cities. It articulates a set o goals, objectives and underlying principles to guide decision making. See www.majorcities.gov.au or urther inormation. Goals
Objectives
Principles
Productivity
To har ness the productivity o Australia’s people and industry, by better managing our use o labour, creativity and knowledge, land and inrastructure
Eciency
1. Improve labour and capital productivity 2. Integrate land use and inrastructure
Value or money
3. Improve the eciency o urban inrastructure Sustainability
To advance the sustainability o Australia’s natural and built environment, including through better resource and risk management 4. Protect and sustain our natural and built environments 5. Reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality
Innovation
Adaptability
6. Manage our resources sustainably
Liveability
7. Increase resilience to climate change, emergency events and natural hazards
Resilience
To enhance the liveability o our cities by promoting better urban design, planning and aordable access to recreational, cultural and community acilities
Equity
8. Facilitate the supply o appropriate mixed income housing 9. Support aordable living choices
Aordability
10. Improve accessibility and reduce dependence on private vehicles 11. Support community wellbeing Governance
To progress the goals o productivity, sustainability and liveability through better gover nance, planning and management 12. Improve the planning and management o our cities
Subsidiarity
Integration
13. Streamline administrative processes 14. Evaluate progress
Engagement
